Run, Baby, Run
by twisted.angel17
Summary: Many people would probably start asking themselves: Where are my parents? Why are they letting this happen to their only daughter? The answer's fairly simple. My parents don't love me; I am merely the means to an end. Julie Capulet wants to escape from her abusive crime lord family and her shattered life. she escapes and meets Romeo, who teaches her to stand on her own two feet.
1. A means to an end

Whack. The thunderous slap echoed off my cheek, reverberating through the room like the splintering of firewood. I winced in agony, the slicing pain squeezing my eyes shut to hide the welling tears. His odorous breath was hot and heavy on my skin, a suffocating sheet of moisture. I was horribly aware of the weight of his body pressing down on mine, the cold metal of his belt buckle cutting into my stomach as he rubbed himself up and down my body. I just lay there, unresisting and beaten. Despite Ty's violent and abusive advances, it had never gone further than this. It was his idea of a sick joke, allowing me to cling onto my last shred of dignity while he waited to cut it from me. I locked myself away in my head, listening to my favourite songs play on an infinite loop in the back of my mind as I waited for Ty to finish his twisted version of making out.

The pressure on my stomach eased and disappeared, notifying me of Ty's leaving. I kept my eyes closed, my ears listening intently for the sound of the door closing and locking. That was the other sick thing; I actually looked forward to being locked in my own personal prison. In a twisted sense of irony, being locked in my room was the only time I felt free, safe. I ran into my ensuite bathroom to assess today's damage. My hair was matted and stained with speckles of blood from Ty biting and ripping at my scalp. A morbid garden of flowering bruises blossomed all over my pale skin; green, yellow, blue and purple. The worst trophy was the purple hand print branded on my left cheek, Ty's personal claim over me.

Many people would probably start asking themselves: _Where are my parents? Why are they letting this happen to their only daughter? _The answer's fairly simple. My parents don't love me; I am merely the means to an end, in this case, I am the bargaining chip in a business transaction with Ty's family. In exchange for their financial and political support of my parents in the underbelly war of Mafia families, I am being forced to marry Ty when I turn 16. That's in one month. In a month, I will lose the last piece of pride and dignity I have left, my innocence, to a crime lord's son. Sometimes I have considered just ending it all; jumping out of my window or hanging myself from my bedroom fan. But I want to have a life, far away from this. I don't want to be a mobster's possession, or a bargaining chip sold to the highest bidder. I want to travel, see the world and live the life I have always dreamed of.

But as the days flitted past, the pages of a book turning in a strong wind, I grew more and more withdrawn as I prepared to meet my fate. That was, until, I noticed the air vent hidden behind my bookcase.


	2. What lay behind the book shelf

Bored out of my brain, I decided to clean and organise my book case. Being a petite girl, reaching the top shelf always proves an almighty challenge. Stretched up on my toes, I grasped for the tomes that stared mockingly down on me, just out of reach. Frustrated, I jumped up and grabbed the book. However, my propelled momentum knocked the book behind the shelves. I groaned in annoyance and knelt down, trying to squeeze my arm through the gap. I fumbled around with my eyes closed in concentration, my fingers brushing the cracked paper. Finally I managed to grab the offending tome. As I stood up again I noticed a shiny square indented in my wall. I stood and pulled my book case out of the way and took a closer look. An air vent looked back at my, its reflective surface pink and red from my reflection.

Frantically, I fumbled with the bolts, desperately hoping this wasn't some cruel joke to lift my spirits before letting them crash and burn like the Hindenburg. The screw in the upper right corner came loose, causing my heart to race in anticipation. Footsteps echoed through the hallway, getting louder with every advance, but I didn't notice. Another screw was coming loose when the reloading shotgun clank of the bolt lock sliding open brought my mind back to the present. Like a dart at the casino downstairs, I leapt onto my bed and closed my eye, feigning unconsciousness.

The tap, tap of the woman who calls herself my mother's absurdly high heels resounded on the laminated wooden floor. I felt her presence next to me, but I kept still, willing her to go away. "Get up!" she slurred angrily, her hot breath smelling of spirits and tobacco. I held my breath; desperately praying to God she would leave. My eyes streamed as the stinging slap made contact with my tender, indigo stained cheek. "I said get up you lazy, good for nothing piece of trash" she screamed, slapping me again.

I bolted upright as if my bed was a burning coal, cowering away from her touch. "Did you really think that you could get away with it?" she asked. I shook my head, terrified despite having no need to be. In her drunken rages, my mother would blame me for anything that would go wrong, be it losing a bet or a drug shipment. It didn't matter what the reason was, I was always to blame. "I'm sorry…" I sobbed, begging her not to hit me. But her eyes showed no mercy. The thundering slaps caused my ears to ring over and over again, until my eyes started to swim with blotches of colour. I put my hand up to guard my face but I wasn't fast enough and another blow impacted with my cheek, splitting my bottom lip in two.

"Please stop…please stop! I'll be good…I promise!" I sobbed, my head pounding like a nail being beaten by a hammer and I could taste hot, coppery liquid in my mouth. My mother's hand stopped mid-swing, and she smirked in triumph, turning on her heel before leaving the room. Gut wrenching sobs erupted from my body. Flipping over, I shoved my face into the pillow, allowing the humiliation and pain to pour out of me. I don't know how long I lay there, sobbing into the soaked pillow case. Eventually, the tears dried and I began to drift off, allowing myself to succumb to unconsciousness.


	3. The Plan

The sounds of running footsteps up and down the corridor awoke me. Confused, I rubbed my eyes and walked over to my door, listening through the keyhole. "The Mistress wants the banquet hall set up immediately. The guests will be arriving soon." I stepped back from the door, my mind whirring. Tonight was my parents' annual Masquerade Ball. Suddenly a thought struck me. The ball would provide the perfect opportunity for me escape and start afresh away from here. If I was somehow able to get into the party from the inside, I could leave through the front entrance without drawing any attention to myself. The guards would assume I was a guest leaving the ball. It was perfect, but how to get down there without being seen? I looked over to the air vent and then smiled as a plan formed in my mind. First, I would have to see where the air vent led.

I searched around my room for anything long enough to function as a rope. I swept the room with my eyes multiple times before letting them rest on my large bed. Ripping the sheets from my bed, I set about tying them together, creating a long rope. I tied one end to the book shelf, before opening the air vent and throwing the rest of it down the long winding tunnel. After taking a deep breath, I plunged into the darkness. The winding tunnels seemed to go on forever, constantly pressing in on me, a claustrophobic tomb. I felt an anxious lump grow in my throat, but I gritted my teeth and pushed on. At last a light appeared, shining dimly in the dull metal. I crawled eagerly towards it and peered through the metal grille.

The brilliant white tiles on a guest bathroom blinded me, causing my eyes to squint against the glare. It took me a few moments to grasp that the bathrooms was one of the many located in the main plaza of the building, which meant that any ball guests would be likely to use the facility. I should be able to go through here without raising suspicion. Now all I would have to do is get ready, wait here until the guests began to arrive and then slip into the crowd. Full of elation at the promise of freedom, I crawled back up to my room, using the rope to find my way through the cramped metallic maze.

Once I was back in my room, I threw myself into packing a small backpack with some spare clothes and sentimental items that I could hide somewhere and collect later. As I was stuffing my bag, a knock resounded on my wooden door. I whirled around attempting to hide the bag and clothes strewn all over my bed when my Nurse, Nancy, walked in with my evening meal. I was treated like a prisoner in my house and all my meals were brought to me in my room so I would have no opportunity to leave. "Good evening, miss. I'm just bringing in your meal. It's your… what are you doing?" She asked, closing the door.

I stared at her, terrified that she would tell and I burst into tears. Nancy rushed over and embraced me, patting my shoulder soothingly. "Shhh, honey it's okay. Now dry your eyes and tell me what's going on." I did as I was bid; Nancy would understand. I am pretty certain that she is the only one on this planet that actually cares for me, that actually cares how I feel. She looked at me incredulously, before asked me why it was so important that I escape. Her inquiry caused me to burn red with anger, even though I knew that she was just making sure that I was doing this for the right reasons. "I'm running away because I can't stay here. My parents abuse me and Ty thinks he owns me. All my life I have been used for everyone else's own gain. For once I want to do something for me. Can you understand that?" I asked her, my eyes shining with determination. Nancy sighed and walked over to my wardrobe, pulling out a gorgeous red gown and mask that obviously belonged to my mother. "Well, you can't go to a ball without a dress."


End file.
